Who makes meaning in a film - the director or the audience?

It is my opinion that a director makes meaning in a film, although the audience will apply their own reading of it. Film has its own "language" and there are a wide range of techniques a director can use to enable the audience to understand his meaning. The director uses mise-en-scène to contribute hugely to how meaning is made in a film - a large part of how the story is told comes from visual content. The elements covered by mise-en-scène are setting, props, costume, performance, lighting and colour. However, the director can be limited by genre conventions established over…